PM Yingluck Defends New Cabinet Line-Up Ahead Of Likely Third Reshuffle

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WATCHDOG

PM defends new Cabinet line-up ahead of likely third reshuffle

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has insisted that her new Cabinet line-up, in which there were a total of 16 portfolio changes, is appropriate for reviving the country's economy following last year's massive floods.

In the new line-up, Kittirat Na Ranong is named as finance minister as well as deputy premier, replacing Thirachai Phuvanart Nala-nuban, who lost his Cabinet post after only four months in office.

Kittirat, former president of Shinawatra University, now has a clear mandate to implement the Pheu Thai Party's policies, especially the transfer of Bt1.14-trillion in public debt legacy to the Bank of Thailand.

Besides the debt transfer, Kittirat is now responsible for issuing Bt350 billion in government bonds to finance urgent and long-term flood prevention projects, to prevent a repeat of last year's disastrous floods, which badly damaged factories in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces, as well as the overall economy.

Kittirat will also have to work with the Bank of Thailand on the provision of another Bt300 billion in soft loans to businesses and industries damaged by the floods.

All these policies are being implemented via the issuing of emergency decrees, which will be effective after they are announced in the Royal Gazette.

Premier Yingluck also defended the qualifications of some new Cabinet members, saying that Nutthawut Sai-Krue, for example, is well qualified to be a deputy agriculture minister due to his understanding of farmers' issues.

Nutthawut was a key leader of the red-shirt movement, which helped the Pheu Thai Party win the July 3 election last year.

Regarding Nalinee Taweesin, the new PM's Office minister, who is on a US blacklist due to her alleged business dealings with Zimbabwe, Yingluck said the blacklist will not affect the new minister's work and the appointment is legal under Thai law.

Yingluck also plans to meet leaders of the armed forces to explain the appointment of ACM Sukumphol Suwannatat as the new defence minister. Sukumphol, formerly the transport minister in the first Yingluck Cabinet, is a close ally of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinwatra.

Sukhumphol is tasked with amending the Defence Ministry Act to increase the defence minister's powers in the annual military appointments.

Like her first Cabinet of only four months' duration, the second Yingluck Cabinet is not expected to last long, either, largely because in May this year a group of 111 veteran politicians, including heavyweights who worked with Thaksin when he was in office, will be free to take up political posts after serving bans.

Thaksin, who lives in exile in Dubai and plays a key role behind the Cabinet line-ups, is expected to push for another Cabinet reshuffle in June this year following the end of the ban on the 111 politicians who were former executive members of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai and related parties.

Thai Rak Thai and related parties were disbanded by the Constitution Court in 2007 due to election fraud, and their executive members were banned from politics for five years.

In other words, both the Yingluck 1 and Yingluck 2 Cabinets are Thaksin's short-term political maneouvres to reward both MP and non-MP supporters who helped his sister and the Pheu Thai Party win the last election.

Once the 111 politicians - who are much more experienced than the current Cabinet members - are free to participate in politics, at least a few of them will join the third Yingluck Cabinet.

-- The Nation 2012-01-21

[Pib]

It's a musical chairs game; not sure it's the best way to run a government. But finding good people is harder to do nowdays....but rewarding people with a high level post doesn't seem too hard with this government using the musical chairs method. Also makes it harder to place blame when things go wrong (you can always blame the previous minister who was only in a office for a short period). Heck, we all may get a turn at being a minister at the current rate the government is swapping them out...where does the waiting line start? Will definitely get more interesting once the 111 are able to also join the musical chairs game.

[LuckyLew]

She is just rewarding the people who got her there

Would not be surprised if one day Thailand ends up

with all red shirt leaders in prominent cabinet positions

[ratcatcher]

It's a musical chairs game; not sure it's the best way to run a government. But finding good people is harder to do nowdays....but rewarding people with a high level post doesn't seem too hard with this government using the musical chairs method. Also makes it harder to place blame when things go wrong (you can always blame the previous minister who was only in a office for a short period). Heck, we all may get a turn at being a minister at the current rate the government is swapping them out...where does the waiting line start? Will definitely get more interesting once the 111 are able to also join the musical chairs game.

"But finding good people is hard to do nowadays....."

Finding good people is easy.

Finding good people who are willing to sell their souls to the devil is a lot harder I think.

Some folks have ethics.

[gl555]

A few months for these people to make some real money before being shuffled out again!

[hellodolly]

It's a musical chairs game; not sure it's the best way to run a government. But finding good people is harder to do nowdays....but rewarding people with a high level post doesn't seem too hard with this government using the musical chairs method. Also makes it harder to place blame when things go wrong (you can always blame the previous minister who was only in a office for a short period). Heck, we all may get a turn at being a minister at the current rate the government is swapping them out...where does the waiting line start? Will definitely get more interesting once the 111 are able to also join the musical chairs game.

where does the waiting line start?

Dubai

[geriatrickid]

It's a musical chairs game; not sure it's the best way to run a government. But finding good people is harder to do nowdays....but rewarding people with a high level post doesn't seem too hard with this government using the musical chairs method. Also makes it harder to place blame when things go wrong (you can always blame the previous minister who was only in a office for a short period). Heck, we all may get a turn at being a minister at the current rate the government is swapping them out...where does the waiting line start? Will definitely get more interesting once the 111 are able to also join the musical chairs game.

"But finding good people is hard to do nowadays....."

Finding good people is easy.

Finding good people who are willing to sell their souls to the devil is a lot harder I think.

Some folks have ethics.

Thirachai Phuvanart has ethics. An honourable and decent man.

[slapout]

Ethics, as interperted by most people seem to be completely foreign to this government. and Thai civil servants in general. The next step is to appoint a committee to set the present day standard that will be acceptable to those who making the guidlines.

Forget the "one bad apple can spoil the barrel." The contents of the barrel stink to high heaven and would sicken those who would sample it.

[Ricardo]

It's a musical chairs game; not sure it's the best way to run a government. But finding good people is harder to do nowdays....but rewarding people with a high level post doesn't seem too hard with this government using the musical chairs method. Also makes it harder to place blame when things go wrong (you can always blame the previous minister who was only in a office for a short period). Heck, we all may get a turn at being a minister at the current rate the government is swapping them out...where does the waiting line start? Will definitely get more interesting once the 111 are able to also join the musical chairs game.

"But finding good people is hard to do nowadays....."

Finding good people is easy.

Finding good people who are willing to sell their souls to the devil is a lot harder I think.

Some folks have ethics.

Thirachai Phuvanart has ethics. An honourable and decent man.

Yes, he appears to have expressed doubts about 'raiding' the BoT 'reserves, to solve the problem of the debts incurred by the government back in the 1997-crisis, and his reward by the 'big boss' is ... to be embarrassed and replaced, after only 5 months in the job.

So much for ethics or integrity, in the PTP world of 'true democracy'.

[Siripon]

It was very amusing when Thaksin told Jatupon the Cabinet had to consist of those with clean images and Jatupon retorted by asking how many of the current Cabinet are clean!

[khaowong1]

This govt. is a joke to most of the civilized world and they don't care. To them it's all about money and power. I don't think they actually know that this is a 3rd world country. Maybe they don't care. To them, being a 2 bit crooked politician in a 3rd world country beats anything else their qualified to do. They can save up some of this money their robbing from the people who elected them and open a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles.

[SouthernMan3]

She is just rewarding the people who got her there

Would not be surprised if one day Thailand ends up

with all red shirt leaders in prominent cabinet positions

I see Red.....